Competition officials said 120,000 people turned out for the event near the Cathedral of Saint Paul to watch the skaters take on the track.

Locals huddled together. They told us the weather was not going to stop them from getting out of the house to experience the thrill of this extreme outdoor winter sport.

This is the highest attendance for any of Crashed Ice's international competitions, officials said.

Athletes race down a man-made ice track as part of the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship. The competitors race four-at-a-time through the downhill course while navigating a vertical drop, jumps, bumps and turns.

For those who have seen Crashed Ice before, it seems like the course couldn't get any tougher. However, Philippe Poirier, the Crashed Ice course designer, said they had to make this year's course harder to keep the competition on their toes.

More than 50 first-time competitors make up the field of 110 athletes in the Ice Cross Downhill Championships.